Inspirations & Story

We first started as to provide nonprofit English tutoring service to Chinese students.

Our initial inspirations were simple, as what our founder Kitty Xu has said:

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were regulations around travelling, so students in China could hardly travel or attend camps abroad, which means they lacked the opportunity to talk with native English speakers. This established a barrier to cultural communication and understanding, which is vital in constructing a global view. In a time when people were all starting to feel bored or even depressed from quarantining, the promotion of online lessons around the world gave me the idea of using online platforms to do something meaningful, something that could benefit others while bringing me joy, then the idea of non-profit online lessons hit me.

In the beginning, since I have never done formal teaching, I spent a few weeks experimenting with the lessons with my cousin and some family friends who were learning English. After gaining some experience and confidence, I gathered a group of high school students and established the program officially, which received its name ‘New Zealand Starry Garden’ after a few months.

After years of growing, we have expended far beyond English tutoring, but a comprehensive student organisation that does something good for our community and the world. We wish to inspire more young people into doing voluntary works for the community, and provide them with oppotunities to do so.